Clark's Grebe
I have seen very few Clark's Grebes and this is my first photo of one, though I have taken lots of its commoner cousin, the Western Grebe: www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/53663667531/in/album-721... The two species are so similar, and often breed on the same lakes, that Clark's was long thought to be just a pale variety of Western Grebe. It was restored to a full species as recently as 1988. I found and photographed this Clark's Grebe among dozens of Western Grebes in San Diego harbour. This echoes my previous experience that Clark's is much rarer than Western. Its diagnostic features are white surrounding the eye and an orange tint to the bill (Western has black surrounding the eye and a yellow-green bill). Its scientific name is Aechmophorus clarkii, which translates as Clark's spear-bearer. John Henry Clark was a naturalist and surveyor who conducted the Texas Mexican Boundary Survey 1851-55 under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institute. He was one of many collectors who sent specimens to Professor Baird at the Smithsonian, including the first Clark's Grebe that Clark himself collected in Chihuahua, Mexico. Surprisingly little is known about Clark, even his birth and death dates are estimates. He was born some time around 1830 and died around 1885.
Clark's Grebe
I have seen very few Clark's Grebes and this is my first photo of one, though I have taken lots of its commoner cousin, the Western Grebe: www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/53663667531/in/album-721... The two species are so similar, and often breed on the same lakes, that Clark's was long thought to be just a pale variety of Western Grebe. It was restored to a full species as recently as 1988. I found and photographed this Clark's Grebe among dozens of Western Grebes in San Diego harbour. This echoes my previous experience that Clark's is much rarer than Western. Its diagnostic features are white surrounding the eye and an orange tint to the bill (Western has black surrounding the eye and a yellow-green bill). Its scientific name is Aechmophorus clarkii, which translates as Clark's spear-bearer. John Henry Clark was a naturalist and surveyor who conducted the Texas Mexican Boundary Survey 1851-55 under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institute. He was one of many collectors who sent specimens to Professor Baird at the Smithsonian, including the first Clark's Grebe that Clark himself collected in Chihuahua, Mexico. Surprisingly little is known about Clark, even his birth and death dates are estimates. He was born some time around 1830 and died around 1885.